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Barnier reveals blueprint for European civil protection force

Former French foreign minister and European commissioner Michel Barnier has presented a plan for a European civil protection force which is designed to improve the EU’s ability to deal with humanitarian crises across the world such as the Asian tsunami in 2004.

European Voice

5/10/06, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 8:38 PM CET

The report, which was presented to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU president in office Wolfgang Schüssel on 9 May, proposes ways for member states to pool their resources and personnel for tackling emergencies to ensure that the EU is as well prepared as possible to respond to natural and man-made disasters.

A key element is setting up an operations centre to plan and prepare for emergencies and a Civil Security Council to ensure that co-ordination and planning efforts are as effective as possible. Equipment and personnel would remain under the control of member states but would be earmarked for EU missions when needed. Some materials for dealing with immediate humanitarian needs – such as field hospitals, medicines and water purification kits – could be maintained in strategic locations around the world, ready for rapid transport to crisis zones.

The paper also calls for greater co-operation on consular activities so that EU citizens can have access to services even where their country does not have representation. It suggests the creation of European consulates in four experimental zones – the Caribbean, the Balkans, the Indian Ocean and West Africa. These common consulates could issue visas as well as intervene to support European citizens who need help.

The report points out that 30 million Europeans travelled to non-EU countries in 2003 while the tsunami disaster killed 2,500 tourists, many of them EU citizens, in Thailand alone. Barnier suggests teams of “flying consular” staff who could be airlifted to crisis-hit regions to help EU citizens. There should also be a common consular code so officials are trained and work to the same standards.

The operations centre would be funded by taking a 10% share of the EU’s annual €1 billion budget for the European Solidarity Fund which pays for disaster relief.

In the report, Barnier makes it clear that his proposals take into consideration the eventual appointment of a European foreign minister, combining the current positions of commissioner for external relations and high representative for foreign policy, as envisaged by the EU constitution. “I have taken the deliberate risk to situate my proposals…in a medium-term horizon of 2010 when EU member states should have created the position of European Foreign Affairs minister, foreseen by the constitution,” states the plan.

But talking to European Voice, Barnier denied that he was engaging in “cherry-picking” elements of the constitution, saying that all the initiatives he proposes could be made “without changing the treaty”. He admitted that while the plan he is setting out had a “political value”, to show to people that the Union “has a soul” and protects citizens, he insisted that his starting point for the report was how to deal with the existing problems the EU faces in better co-ordinating its response to emergencies. “Even if we don’t have the constitution, catastrophes will not wait for us,” he said.

Barnier explained that his approach is “bottom-up” as member states who want to participate in order to improve the Union’s ability to deal with crises can choose to do so. While he expected that all member states would want to take part, he said that if there wasn’t unanimous support for moving ahead, it could be possible to use enhanced co-operation, a mechanism which allows some countries to proceed with new initiatives without being held back by others’ vetoes.

The programme, which Barnier sees being developed gradually over four years, has a decentralised approach with member states retaining control over specialised equipment and personnel until they are needed to deal with sudden crises. “There is no question about centralising equipment in Brussels,” the report says.

While Barnier’s paper says that the means and expertise to deal with crises exist at national level, it says that “without a co-ordinated organisation of Europe’s response, the cost of a ‘lack of Europe’ can be seen in the effectiveness of response as well as in financial terms”.

The approach outlined in the report could save member states money, as it would avoid duplication of resources, especially for consular services, while better planning would make responses more targeted.

“The more prepared we are, the more you anticipate and the more money you save,” said Barnier.

The report, together with a separate study on better foreign policy co-ordination by the former secretary-general of the Western European Union, José Cutiliero, will feed into discussions on how the EU can improve its performance in the foreign policy field at the EU summit on 15-16 June.

“It’s all a question of political will,” Barnier said, commenting on the likelihood of member states backing his report. “But nature will not forget us. Catastrophes will happen and we need to be prepared.”

Twelve ideas to improve the EU’s crisis management response

A European-wide civil protection force Europe Aid

Support for the force in seven ultraperipheral regions of the European Union

Creation of a Civil Security Council and strengthening of the General Affairs and External Relations Council

One-stop shop for humanitarian response

Integrated European approach to anticipate crises

Six EU regional delegations to specialise in crisis management

Clear information system for European citizens

Sharing of consular resources

Creation of flying consular teams

Setting up European consulates in four pilot zones

Drawing up a European consular code

Laboratories to specialise in the fight against bio-terrorism and the naming of victims